1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to file management. Specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method for managing property information related to a resource, such as a file maintained in a file system.
2. The Prior State of the Art
A computer file is a collection of bytes stored as an individual entity and having an assigned file name that is unique within a directory. There are many types of files including executable files, graphics files, audio files, document files, spreadsheet files, and so forth.
Often, it is desirable to keep a record of properties associated with the file. For example, for document files, it might be useful to keep track of the title, the author, the reviewer, the number of characters, the total editing time, the security parameters, the creation time, the last-modified time, the file size, and so forth. For executable files, it might be also be useful to keep track of the executable name, the last compilation date, the number of lines of code used to create the executable, and so forth.
There are several ways to store these properties and associate the properties with the primary file that they describe. One method (called herein the xe2x80x9cinternal inclusion methodxe2x80x9d) stores the property information within the primary file itself. For example, in Microsoft(copyright) Word documents, property information concerning the Word document such as the author is stored as part of the Word document itself. This property information is not viewed when the Word document is opened using Microsoft(copyright) Word because Microsoft(copyright) Word refrains from displaying such information.
In this internal inclusion method, the property information is moved, copied, or deleted along with the rest of the primary file. Since the property information is located directly within the primary file, there is substantially no risk of the property information becoming disassociated with the primary file as long as the primary file itself does not become corrupted.
A disadvantage of the internal inclusion method is that the properties cannot be changed without changing the primary file itself. Thus, after changing the property, the entire primary file is saved. This save transaction can take significant time in computer terms for larger primary files.
In another method (called herein the xe2x80x9cindirect association methodxe2x80x9d), the property information is not stored within the primary file, but in a separate property file. This method is xe2x80x9cindirectxe2x80x9d in that the property file is obtained by reference to a separate table. In this indirect association method, the properties are set by editing and saving smaller property files rather than the much larger primary files.
A disadvantage of the indirect association method is that each time the property information is referenced, the separate table must be read. Furthermore, when the primary file is moved, copied, or deleted, appropriate amendments in the separate table must reflect these changes. This reading and amending of the separate table can also take significant time and occupy valuable computer resources.
Another disadvantage of the indirect association method is that when a search is performed of the primary file, the property file is not also automatically searched. Thus, it is difficult to search for which primary files are authored by a certain person since the field describing the author is contained within the unsearched property file, and not in the primary file.
Thus, a system and method are desired for associating property information with the primary file without having the property information included in the primary file, and without have the property information associated with the primary file only indirectly by reference to a separate table. Furthermore, a system and method are desired for searching a property file along with its primary file.
The present invention relates to the management of property information related to a resource, the resource being, for example, a file or directory. For example, it may be desirable to keep track of the author, reviewer, creation date, size, and so forth of a document.
In the present invention, a property file is created for storing property information related to the resource. The property file exists as a separate entity from the resource. Thus, changing the resource is not necessary in order to set or delete properties related to the resource. This is particularly important for larger resources such as large text files which require significant time and resources in computer terms to save a new version of the text file after alteration.
Furthermore, the property file is directly associated with the resource such that if the resource is moved, copied, or deleted, the corresponding property file is also moved, copied, or deleted, respectively. Thus, the chance of the property file becoming disassociated with the resource is relatively small. Disassociation is undesirable since property information that relates to a resource that cannot be located is substantially useless. Furthermore, as changes occur to the resource, the property information in the disassociated property file cannot be updated and thus the property information quickly becomes outdated. Still, even though the property file is disassociated and thus useless, the property file still occupies memory that could be more efficiently used for other purposes.
Also, the property file is directly associated with the resource without having to refer to a separate look-up or SQL database, which can take considerable time.
Searches may also be performed by setting criteria for property information in the property files, as well as by setting criteria for content information in the resource. For example, a search may be performed for all documents containing the word xe2x80x9cpatentxe2x80x9d and that are authored by xe2x80x9cJohn Doexe2x80x9d. Thus, much more refined searches may be performed since property information is considered in the search.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other objects and features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.